It's a well-known phrase that makes us proud to be from Derbyshire and the East Midlands.

Often when you go to the shops you may hear "ay up me duck" or when you kindly open the door for someone, they may respond by saying "thanks duck".

People living in the south of the country may think we are somewhat quackers (sorry for the pun) for saying 'duck', but to us it just feels common and friendly language.

The popular phrase is also used in surrounding areas such as Staffordshire and is often heard in northern parts of the country. And it's not unusual to hear a character on Coronation Street use the term.

But if somebody asked you why do we say it, then you may stuck for an answer.

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Recently Keele University, based in Staffordshire, has explained the reasoning behind the term.

In a tweet the university explained how the term came about - and it apparently goes back to Saxon times.

It said: "Why do we call people 'Duck'?

"We're not actually calling you a Mallard, in fact it's believed that 'duck' comes from the Saxon word 'ducas' which was meant as a term of respect and leadership. So when we say 'Ay up duck' we're just being respectful."

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Earlier this year our sister title Nottinghamshire Live spoke to Paul Cavill, an assistant professor in Old English at the University of Nottingham, about where it came from.

"The word 'duck' is used as a term of endearment from at least Shakespeare's time," he said.

"It appears in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1600) and other contemporary sources.

"With some variations in date, we also get'chuck', and 'hen'(now obsolete in English). Calling someone after a kind of bird is also early - 'goose' and 'cuckoo' are usually fond ways of talking about silly people.

"All this suggests that the origin of 'Ay up me duck' is medieval, and was originally an endearment using the bird name."